Apple has been granted another patent (number 10,750,287) in its quest to make iPhones and Apple Watches waterproof. The newly granted patent is dubbed “evacuation of liquid from acoustic space.”
It would eject residual liquid in a device via the speaker system or earphone. More specificially, it would use a pulsing voice coil motor to “kick out” water.
Here’s the summary of the invention: “An acoustic module, such as a microphone or speaker module, includes an acoustic membrane that vibrates to produce acoustic waves and an acoustic cavity through which acoustic waves produced by the membrane travel. A liquid removal mechanism removes liquid from the acoustic cavity. Such a liquid removal mechanism may include the acoustic membrane, heating elements, hydrophobic and/or hydrophilic surfaces, and so on. In some cases, the liquid removal mechanism may remove liquid from the acoustic cavity upon connection of the acoustic module and/or an associated electronic device to an external power source.”
The images accompanying this article are courtesy of Enigma Recovery and AirMore.
